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Deciding what I should do for my 3D avatar idea was fairly easy. It was a split between a human character or a mechanical like creature made of of components that represent me.

After a few sketches it became evident that creating a mechanical like creature wasn't really going to work and i couldn't create anything i thought i'd be happy with. Initialy i was going to create a 3D avatar of me in everyday life however i don't think that best represented me as an identity. After a few ideas i decided that i would express my identity and personality through a skiier/snowboarder type figure. The sketches i am fairly happy with are below:

So, for the Identities project we have to do at least one piece of AV footage. Looking back at my Narratives project its more than evident that my strong point in AV was pixilation over creating footage with a hand-held video camera. Then the question arose, what, using moving visuals and audio, represents me and my identity.

In my opinion a large percentage of a persons identity is acquired by what they day. There day to day life. So, I’ve decided to create a pixilation movie about a day in my life.

My plan is to shoot a person doing the things I normally do. Or shoot from a first persons POV. I will probably attempt both in order to decide which is most effective. Either way I intend not to have any shots of their face and little of their physical appearance. This is important in order to emphasise that identity is about what we do and shouldn’t just be about how we appear.

The basic timeline/storyboard for the video will be as follows:

Wake Up
Get Ready
Eat Breakfast
Travel To University
Action at University
Lunch
Travel to Work
Action at Work
Getting Ready
Going Out
Eating Dinner (probably in social environment)
Going to Social Event
Action at Social Event
Going Home
Watching Film
Going to Sleep

Sounds fairly simple, but I want to integrate the idea of things being not as they seem. This is based on the idea of that, yes, hundreds of students do the same as me every day, but we all have our own identity. In order to express this ‘differentness’ I have decided that I will mess around with the sounds that are played at the time of each clip. I intend to play the clips that are at the opposite end of the day to the visual ie:

Visual - Audio

Wake Up - Going to Sleep
Get Ready - Watching a Film
Eat Breakfast - Going Home
Travel To University - Action at Social Event
Action at University - Going to Social Event
Lunch - Eating Dinner
Travel to Work - Going Out
Action at Work - Getting Ready
Getting Ready - Action at Work
Going Out - Travel to Work
Eating Dinner (probably in social environment) - Lunch
Going to Social Event - Action at University
Action at Social Event - Travel to University
Going Home - Eat Breakfast
Watching Film - Get Ready
Going to Sleep - Wake Up

I know the concept sounds strange but the way I imagine it I think it will work quite well. Bare with me!

As a one of the 2 free choice elements for my Identities project i have decided to create a flash-based website about my identity. Over the Christmas period i came up with a 'Polaroid' idea which can be seen further back in my blog. I've taken the original idea behind that and start to add a bit more creativity. I've only just started to compile my initial thoughts but here's a quick snap of the front page:

Just a quick one. I've just come up with this, its an idea for a website logo although I'm tempted integrate it into my identities logo:

Still not sure that i'm completely happy with my logo so i've gone for a more simple colour scheme:

Just realised i did this last week and forgot to post it. Here's my self portrait for the identities seminar =)

Below is the first draw up of my Car-Name logo idea. I quite like it. I will have to see if i get any more ideas for it. Please comment if you've got any good ideas or constructive criticisms =)

I've sort of come up with a new idea for my logo. Whilst sitting in a web-based lecture this week (no link really), (and no pun intended), i rememberd a cap i'd seen with Michael Schumachers personal logo on it. So, when i got home i looked it up and i got some fairly good ideas.

The Schumacher logo looks like this:














As you should be able to see, the idea is that it is initials, M.S., in the shape of a racing car. As motorracing and cars in general is something i take great interest in i thought i'd give it a go. Below are a few sketches i did to get the ideas flowing:

This one is just my first name, Tom, transformed to look like a racing car and driver. I quite like it although it doesnt look that much like a car or my name.


This is my second sketch that just uses my second name, Edson, in the shape of the car. This one looks a lot more like a racing car but its sort of loosing the look of having a name in it. So i gave it another go to see if it could be improved...

The third and final image (that i'm willing to show you anyway), again, is another attempt at putting my last name, Edson, into the shape of a race car. I like this one a lot better than the previous.



After quite a few sketches i still feel that the original image using 'Tom' in the shape of a race car is the most effective due its simplicity it feels much more like a logo than the other two.

I will post the computerised version of that when it is complete.

Ok, so last week I posted a few images of a billboard i found displaying a new coke advert that i really liked the look of. I intended to use it as the basis for my own identity logo. And here is the result:


















As much as i like the finished product it is too complex for a logo. Keeping in mind that a logo is an easily recognisable symbol i don't think this is. However, all effort has not been lost as it acutally makes a pretty in-depth moodboard. Either as it is above or as the background images as can be seen below:

Using 3D Studio Max 3D I have chosen a shape with texture, lighting and colour which I feel best represents me.

The shape I’ve chosen is a Torus Knot. At first I wasn’t really sure why but I felt that this shape appealed to me a great deal more than the rest so I think I should use it. I’m not really sure if the shape suites me or I’m trying to suite the shape but here it goes.

I think the shape visually represents me as I like to think I’m fairly complex, yet easy to follow. The name of the shape also appeals greatly as Taurus is my star sign.

I used 4 different colours, these are black, blue, red and orange. I didn't choose these colours because they visually represent me, orange and red especialy. But they all appeal to me for different reasons. I used the colours to represent my interests.

Not one colour represents one intereset but i've used them to show the idea that i have many, quite different interests yet they all colide together from time to time.

In the latest of the 3DS Max seminars we were given a fairly basic...noddy-esque...car. And shown how to create textures for them. This is the one thing i've really enjoyed using the software so i decided to take it a little further. I attempted to create a replica 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500 (for those that don't know about cars its the one from 'Gone in 60 Seconds'). Below is the process:

The first car done in the session:
















The next render, i've changed the shape of the body so it matches that of the car it is based on:























3rd Render, sorted out the distorting on the headlamps, removed the white lines from where the polygons meet and have added wheels and tyres.























4th Render, i've removed the stripe going over the top of the car as i couldn't really get it to look as i wanted it to so in the end i decided to remove it and take influence from the General Lee (Dodge Charger from The Dukes of Hazzard) and put a confederate flag on the roof!














































Final Render, quite a lot of changes here, the bonnet has been lowered as i felt it was too box like and looked like the front of a truck. There were a few flitches with one wheel and a rear panel on the boot, they're now fixed. I have also coloured in the tire tread and given underneath the chassis colour and exhaust componants. The final product below:

For the most part my creativity has been for me, either for spare time enjoyment, increase my portfolio or to achieve a qualification. A few individual pieces have been completed on request from friends and family, however that is a very small percentage.

On completion of a piece of work it is very rare for it to look like what I’d initially imaged when I’d started it. I’m pretty sure none of my work is unique. It all has to come from somewhere. I draw a lot of inspiration from young novice artists displaying their words on the Internet as well as things from mainstream media. Most of my works draw inspiration from things a see and experience throughout its build time.

I would like to think that the future of my creativity can achieve two things. Firstly, creativity with a higher-level of finished quality, in whatever its form. The second future I desire for my creativity is for it to be used in profitable media and would be a sustainable career for me to work in. Research can help me achieve these in a number of ways.

By researching the current market of work in my area would help me achieve a greater understanding of what people want, what creates customers and what impresses people. Researching classic works can help me gain a basic understanding of what works and what doesn’t. Without the basics, not much really works.

The ‘Starting Point’ that I most feel drawn to is ‘For’ – What else is happening on other related disciplines. Whereas the ‘Starting Point’, in front of, is the one I feel most weary of is. This is because it is the only one I really can’t relate to. I think this is because a lot of my work doesn’t pass other peoples eyes before completion. Even though I feel that none of the ‘Starting Points’ are irrelevant I am unsure at the moment of how the ‘In/Through’ process really works.